Sunroom and porch rugs and cushions in Perryman

Sun and damp do different damage

It helps to know which problem you're looking at:

• Sunroom (glass, heat, sun): fading, fibers that turn brittle, fabric that tears easily and a layer of dust and pollen.
• Screened porch (open air, damp): mildew spots, a musty smell, dirt ground in by wet shoes and pollen that turns into a grimy film.

Plenty of rooms get a bit of both. A sunroom with the windows open all summer behaves a lot like a porch, and a porch with glass panels put in for winter starts acting like a sunroom.

Mildew: catch it while it's small

Mildew shows up as gray, black or greenish specks, usually in shaded corners, on the undersides of cushions and under rugs lying on concrete or decking. It grows wherever moisture can't escape.

When you find it, take the cushion or rug outside before you brush it, so you're not spreading it around indoors. Brush the surface growth off with a soft brush and let the piece dry in open air. Don't hose down or soak cushions made with indoor fabric. Check the care tag before using any cleaner, and never mix products. Mildew that has already stained the fabric may not come out completely, even with a professional cleaning.

Fading is for keeps

Sun damage is permanent. The dye is gone, and no cleaning puts it back. What cleaning can do is remove the grime and pollen that make faded fabric look even duller, so the color that's left looks as good as it can.

Sun also weakens fibers over time. A cushion that has sat in full sun for years may be more fragile than it looks, and badly sun-rotted fabric can split during any kind of cleaning. That's one reason fabric gets tested before we clean it.

To slow fading, flip and rotate cushions every few weeks, turn rugs end for end now and then, and pull the shades during the brightest part of the day.

Polypropylene rugs are tough, not maintenance-free

A lot of outdoor and sunroom rugs are polypropylene, sometimes sold as olefin. It shrugs off water and holds its color in the sun better than most indoor fibers, which is why it's so common out there. It still has weak spots. Oily soil, like sunscreen and grill grease, clings to it. Dirt packed into the weave holds moisture, and a damp rug lying on concrete can mildew on the underside or leave a mark on the floor.

Lift outdoor rugs after heavy rain and let both sides dry. Shake or vacuum them weekly while they're in use. Sunroom and porch rugs can be cleaned on site like any other rug, and area rug cleaning in Perryman explains how that works. Rugs are quoted because size and condition vary, fringe cleaning isn't included, and a rug in rough shape may be better off at a rug facility.

Zippers don't mean washable

Removable covers are tempting to throw in the washing machine. Plenty of them shrink, fade or lose their backing in the wash and then won't zip back over the foam. Wash one cover and not the others, and the set may never match again.

Read the care tag. Some outdoor fabrics are designed to be washed and some aren't. If there's no tag, don't guess. The foam matters too. Outdoor cushions often use foam made to drain quickly, but the foam in an upholstered sunroom chair holds water like a sponge, so never soak it.

An end-of-season routine

Before you close up the porch for winter:

1. Vacuum or brush every cushion and rug.
2. Deal with mildew spots while the weather is still dry and breezy.
3. Get anything that needs a real cleaning done while it can still dry well.
4. Store cushions somewhere dry and off the floor, not in a damp shed.
5. Roll rugs instead of folding them, and keep them somewhere dry.

Do the same walk-through in spring before everything goes back out. It's much easier to spot mildew on a cushion in April than in the middle of July, when the porch is in use every day.

Booking sunroom and porch pieces

For sunroom sofas, chairs and ottomans, see upholstery cleaning in Perryman. A sofa is $150, a chair $65 and an ottoman $50, and every fabric is tested before it's cleaned. The visit minimum in Perryman is $225, so it often makes sense to do the porch rug and the sunroom furniture in one visit. Tell us how many pieces and cushions there are, what the rug is made of if you know, and whether any of it has been stored damp.